Sheppard May Miss LDS

From the AP -

Bob Sheppard, the Yankees’ public-address announcer since 1951, could miss the team’s postseason home opener Sunday night.

Sheppard wasn’t at the final homestand of the season because of laryngitis, and as of Wednesday it wasn’t clear whether “The Voice of God” will recover by the weekend. If Sheppard isn’t back, longtime backup Jim Hall will be behind the mike.

Sheppard doesn’t like to give his age, but a former Yankees official confirmed last year that Sheppard was born on Oct. 12, 1910.

Isn’t laryngitis usually a short-lived irritation? Sheppard is 97. There could be more going on here than is being reported. I hope that I’m wrong on this one.

Losing Scooter and Sheppard in the same year just doesn’t seem fair.

Comments

2 Responses to “Sheppard May Miss LDS”

Pete on October 4th, 2007 11:19 am

Ugh, ‘not fair’ indeed.

Well, it wouldn’t be a Yankees playoff run without some tragedy. In the late 90’s it seemed like every year we either lost a big former Yankee or one of the current players lost a family member.

Was it ‘98 or ‘99 when Brosius and O’Neill both lost their dads?
baileywalk on October 4th, 2007 1:10 pm

Isn’t laryngitis usually a short-lived irritation? Sheppard is 97. There could be more going on here than is being reported. I hope that I’m wrong on this one.
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You must be a fun guy to be around, Steve. Someone tells you he has a stiff neck and you tell him he probably has poliomyelitis.

I think you answer your own question — laryngitis is short-lived, but no illness is short-lived for someone that old, and not for a man who uses his voice for a living.

I find it amazing that Sheppard is still able to do his job. My grandfather, as scary as it sounds, was still driving at 94. He was physically strong and capable, but his mind inevitably went. I’ve met quite a few people in their 90s and I’m no longer shocked by the ones who are physically fit but by the ones who are still mentally sound — because apparently, at least according to what I see, we were never meant to stay coherent that long.